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Survival Mode.

Category Archives: Chores

I don’t know about you, but I had this plan to get back to eating healthy foods as soon as Thanksgiving was over and our house guests headed home. BUT ALL THE FOOD IS STILL THERE. And then I got sick. I’m not on my death bed or anything, but all I want to eat is junk. And my house is full of it. I have no energy, which makes me not want to cook the meals I planned so I’ve been eating cheese and crackers. And I might have sent the hubs to the store for chocolate. I woke up with a sugar hangover this morning. Then had the rest of the Two-Bite-Brownies for lunch. I’m on a roll over here guys. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.

Quality photobomb from the leftover lettuce #vegetables

Step 1: Clean out the fridge

I can’t eat the delicious leftover stuffing if its not in the fridge. Luckily the brownies are gone, so I don’t have to feel guilty throwing those away! I really try to limit our food waste but none of use has any business eating the amount of stuffing/green bean casserole that we have left!

Step 2: Get rid of junkie snacks

I could live off of chips and salsa. Breakfast, chips and salsa. Lunch, chips and salsa. Dinner, chips and salsa. Snacks/Dessert…you get the picture. As much as it will break my heart, I think I need to throw the chips away 😦 Unless I can pass them off on someone else. Anyone want some chips??

Step 3: Organize and plan

I need to go through and see what I have left and plan some healthy meals. I need to prep some healthy snacks to grab instead of cheese and crackers.

Step 4: Move.

I always have more motivation to eat well when I exercise. Luckily both kids will be in school tomorrow so I will have the time and space to get something in!

So tomorrow is a new day. I may still feel like crap, but I there are no more brownies so I’ll have to eat a salad or something. Hopefully choosing vegetables over chocolate will give me more energy! And help me not break out! And be nicer to my children!

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about why I am a stay at home mom (see previous post). There are all these reasons floating around like daycare is horrible/for mom’s who don’t want to take care of their kids, it’s what I (as a woman) am supposed to do, yada yada yada. There are just as many reasons to NOT be a stay at home mom – less money, low self-esteem, divorce. It’s tiring hearing people explain their decisions.

The truth, for me at least, is that this is where I am supposed to be. Not because we can afford it. Not because my husband travels for work. Not because I am a woman. I am a stay at home mom because it is what is best for MY family.

That being said, as women, we cannot win this argument between being a working mom and a stay at home mom. If we decide to work, we are neglecting our kids. If we stay home, we aren’t living up to our potential or contributing to society. No matter what we decide, we will suffer the never-ending “mom-shaming”.

For some reason we are told that we need to do it all. We need to take of the children, our husbands, our homes. We need to work and bring home the proverbial bacon. We need to craft. We need to do volunteer work. We need to teach our kids. And we need to look good doing it. If we fail at one of these, we feel like we are failing at life. It is so easy to get wrapped up in any one of these things and look to them to find our identities. If we lose it, we lose our identities and we feel lost. Even if others aren’t “mom-shaming” us, we begin to shame ourselves.

The only way I’m able to get around this, is to remember that my identity is not in being a mom. It is not in being a teacher, or a wife, or even as a woman. My identity is in Christ. I have to remind myself of this daily because it is oh so easy to be blinded by everyday life. This truth takes away so many of these burdens! I want to challenge all the mommies out there reading this (and MYSELF) not to let those thoughts of self-doubt and shame creep in. And almost just as importantly, don’t let those feelings of doubt be directed at other mommies. Whatever type of moms we are, we are doing GREAT work!